Posts Tagged ‘business of design’

Every day I read a new article about dealing with clients or how to best present your work, however the underlying principal of all of these articles is the creation of a process. This is one of a few things that long established firms have that freelancers and new business ventures most likely do not. I personally have been struggling with the creation and refinement of my personal process over the last year and have refined it to a point that I think is relatively successful.

Every design process varies greatly, however they all share some common ground. A good design process should start by learning about the project and defining its goals. But why create a process, what are the benefits?

This is something that is really starting to bug me. It seems like every web shop under the sun has been touting their ability to provide standards complaint valid HTML and CSS. But I ask you so what and who cares? I fully believe in the benefits of standards complaint and valid HTML / CSS but why do so many people use it as a selling point?

Chances are that if you do web design in a smaller company or as a freelancer that you have had a project that required outside help in order to fulfill the client’s needs. Web design is an interesting field. Projects can range from mostly aesthetic to almost entirely mathematical. This wide range of demands that a project can take on means that being an expert in all facets of web design is impossible and you will eventually have to look outside your direct resources for expertise other than your own. This is where outsourcing naturally comes in, but at what cost?

There is a long standing ethical discussion in the design profession about whether designers should design for products or services that the designer does not believe in. The ultimate worst-case scenario is obviously the tobacco industry. While typically the discussion is based upon the power of design to evoke a perception that is contrary to the product’s true properties, I would like to discuss a different side of the situation. Those with the power to manage their own accounts have the ability to turn down work that is against their beliefs, however what about those designers who do not.

Ok I admit the title of this article may be a little misleading, however I am hard pressed to think of a better one (and I thought about it for a long time). What I am actually talking about is during the creative process. I no longer will be supplying my client’s with what they are expecting, and for a number of good reasons.

While the social media and Web 2.0 buzz has created a number of new job opportunities for web designers and developers I can’t help but wonder at what cost? I have written before about how some client’s just aren’t ready for a sophisticated website, and how we should consult them to reach their goals. What if the client isn’t ready for the commitment of building a community? There are a number of reasons that client’s may not be ready to support a community based site that they do not realize.

A While back I wrote a couple of articles about sitepoint contests and how the service was nothing more than a spec nightmare. At the time I asked the positive space community to boycott the service and spread the word that it was not ethical. Then a couple of days ago I was back on sitepoint looking through the websites currently for sale, when I decided to see if the number of contests had declined. After clicking the link I was surprised to find that the contests section had become 99designs.

I would typically just ignore the site and consider it another site that hoped to prey on the ignorance of unsuspecting designers if not he image that the site portrays. Not only does the site say that it is run for designers by designers, but that it is doing them good by providing this service. There are so many things wrong with this statement that I am sure it needs no explaining.

I recently got into an interesting discussion with some other designers when the topic of print vendors was raised. More specifically we were discussing whether they share their print vendors with their clients or keep these services “blind.” I personally have always handled the fulfillment of print services on the behalf of my client unless they had a standing relationship with a printer that was discussed prior to the beginning of the job. However I am finding that some designers have no problem sharing their vendors with their clients, something I do not agree with.

Think about this for a second. Think back to the last time that you had a project in which the client pushed scope. How many times has it happened that they only pushed the scope once? Chances are the problem came to be in the form of what I am now referring to as the “Wave Model.”

This article is a direct response to Andy Rutledge’s article “A Sense of Non-Commitment,” if you have not seen the article I would suggest that you give it a read. The article is well written and though out as is typical of Andy. I have however been freelancing on the side for some time now, so naturally this article peaked my interest. I however have never considered it to be a conflict of interest with my employer and have even discussed the subject with them before. Andy brings up a number of points in his article that I agree with, however I believe that there are some items that he may have missed that also effect such a complex ethical situation.

The one and only area where I do not agree is where Andy states “perhaps things at your real job might get so backed up that you have to leave my project languishing while you take care of your real work.” Now I believe that this is a valid concern of a client you may take on for freelance work, however you should be upfront about your main job, and the fact that you are completing the project in your spare time. If they have a problem with this, then they most likely will not use your services, which at that point you could suggest the services of your full-time employer.

That said, here are some tips that I have compiled to help you remain professional and still utilize your entrepreneurial spirit.